Adhesive coated sewing thread

ABSTRACT

Loose threads on garments and other textiles diminish the quality and reduce the lifetime of the garment or textile. This invention is coating a sewing thread with a thermally activated adhesive that is activated when heated and set when cooled. The adhesive can be permanently set when cooled, or it can be reactivated every time it is heated above the threshold temperature for the adhesive and reset when cooled. Using this thread to sew garments and textiles, heating them to activate the adhesive and then letting them cool and set would strengthen the garment or textile, increasing the quality and lifetime of the article.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] REFERENCES CITED 6,503,623 January, 2003 Oue, et al. 6,251,210 June, 2001 Bullock, et al. 6,127,028 October, 2000 Sandor, et al. 5,869,182 February, 1999 Ebert,et al. 5,436,075 July, 1995 Sawko 5,128,054 July, 1992 Chakravarti

[0002] Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

[0003] Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX

[0004] Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The invention relates to coating sewing thread with a thermally activated adhesive.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Loose threads on garments and other textiles diminish the quality and reduce the lifetime of a garment or textile. In the last ten years, advances in treating thread and yarn have solved the problem of textile disintegrating by treating the textile as a whole with adhesive, coating thread with polymers that increase the volume of the thread and when heated decrease the thread to its original volume, tightening the stitching.

[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,182 by Ebert, describes coating sewing thread with different polymers, with the intention of increasing the volume of the thread. When heated, the polymer evaporates and the threads shrink, tightening the stitching. While Ebert mentions and includes polymers having adhesive properties, the patent is coating the thread with the intention of increasing the thread volume rather than coating the thread with a thermal set adhesive.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,210 by Bullock, describes treating textiles with adhesive, along with other compounds. Though the patent covers treating textiles with adhesive materials, it is oriented towards treating the woven textile rather than the individual threads before the textile is sewn.

[0009] Other patents relating to the art of treating thread and yarn include increasing strength and elasticity, altering the thermodynamic properties to allow for a larger temperature range, and increasing resistance to cutting. None of these patents, as well as others retrieved in text and title searches, are the same as the present invention.

BREIF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] This invention is to coat thread with an adhesive material before sewing, either wrapping it around a spool or applying it between the spool and sewing needle. When the textile is sewn adjacent threads on a textile stick together as the adhesive material is activated. To avoid threads adhering together when spooled, the adhesive material must be thermally activated, such as epoxy or another thermal set plastic.

BREIF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Not Applicable

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention is coating a sewing thread with a thermally activated adhesive that is inactive until heated and set when cooled. The adhesive can be permanently set when cooled, or it can be reactivated every time it is heated above the threshold temperature for the adhesive and reset when cooled.

[0013] Preferably, the adhesive should be a partially cured thermal set plastic, such as epoxy, so the adhesive used cured by cross linkage does not reactivate when the garment or textile is heated in a domestic dyer or when dry cleaned commercially. If the adhesive can be reactivated thermally, the activating temperature should be higher than temperatures the garment or fabric will encounter during cleaning or normal use, while at the same time being low enough to not damage the thread when the adhesive is initially activated. 

I claim:
 1. A sewing thread consisting of a thread coated in a thermally activated adhesive, where the adhesive is active when heated and set when cooled.
 2. A sewing thread as described in claim 1 where the thermally activated adhesive is a partially cured B-stage thermal set plastic which upon final heating remains permanently set.
 3. A sewing thread as described in claim 1 where the thermally activated adhesive is a thermal set plastic. 